‘Tis the season for cookouts and burgers. Whether gas-powered or charcoal, grills everywhere get fired up regularly to prepare hot dogs, burgers, veggies skewers, and more for family and friends. With such a delicious array of food being made so regularly, it can be easy to forget that certain foods are actually terrible for gout. It’s hard to avoid gout-causing foods sometimes, but preventing a painful flare-up is worth foregoing a hotdog or two in the end.

How Gout Is Caused

Gout is a type of arthritis that causes intense pain in your joints when too much crystalized uric acid collects there. One factor that contributes to the levels of uric acid in your blood is the food you eat. Your body makes the acid crystals when it breaks down the purines in your food. Now, some foods have a much higher purine content than others. These are the foods that you want to limit or avoid altogether, since they can act as gout triggers.

Foods To Avoid Regarding Gout

Here are a few high-purine foods and beverages to put on your “limit or avoid” list:

• Red meat, particularly beef, lamb, and organ meats (like kidneys)
• Pork and sweetbread meats
• Certain types of seafood, including herring, anchovies, mackerel, tuna, scallops, sardines, and mussels
• All types of alcohol
• Processed and high-sugar carbs, including white bread, cakes, candy, and pasta
• High-sugar juices and sodas
• High-fat content foods, including chips and high-fat dairy products

Get Help Controlling Gout

You’ll never be able to cut purines out of your diet completely—and that’s not really the point when you avoid gout-causing foods. You’re simply limiting your intake of foods that typically act as gout triggers. Replace these with healthier options, like lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean meats. If you’re struggling to manage your gout, let us know at Carolina Podiatry Group. We’ll help you find a way to keep flare-ups under better control. Use our website to contact us, or call one of our two South Carolina offices: (803) 285-1411 for our Lancaster location, or (803) 548-FEET for our Indian Land office.